[05.07.2011]
CS! berichtet über die US-Einspielergebnisse...[...]
Disney*Pixar's weakly-received Cars 2 brought in $30.5 million in its second weekend, down a distressing 54% even including Monday, proving that audiences may be agreeing with the critics on this one. It has grossed $123 million in its first ten days and it's not looking very likely to gross $200 million, making it the first Pixar movie since A Bug's Life not to hit that milestone. [...]

[27.06.2011]
CS! berichtet über die US-Kinocharts...
Despite receiving the worst reviews for a Pixar movie yet, Cars 2 earned an estimated $68 million in first place domestically at the weekend box office. The sequel opened in 4,115 theaters and averaged $16,525 per location. The original Cars debuted to $60.1 million in 2006. Internationally, Cars 2 collected $42.9 million in 18 markets to have a worldwide total of $110.9 million so far. [...]

[06.10.2010]
CS! meldet...
Disney*Pixar will premiere its latest Cars Toons short this Friday at 9:30pm ET/PT on the Disney Channel.
Directed by the original Cars director (and head of Pixar) John Lasseter and co-directed by Rob Gibbs, the short is entitled Heavy Metal Mater and will feature a score by Mark Mothersbaugh. The synopsis for the short is as follows:
Mater is a rock star in a heavy metal band. He starts out in a garage band and rises to the top with his hit song, "Dad Gum." Lightning McQueen joins him on stage in the middle of a huge concert and they rock into history.
Heavy Metal Mater is the seventh of nine Cars Toons, all of which are slated for release on DVD and Blu-ray on November 2nd.

[10.02.2010]
Wie CS! meldet, wurde der US-Kinostart des Sequels verschoben...During Walt Disney Company's first quarter 2010 earnings call on Tuesday, company President and CEO Bob Iger mentioned that Disney*Pixar's Cars 2 will be released in theaters in December of 2011.
The film was previously scheduled for a release on June 24, 2011 and this move would leave that release slot empty for now. [...]

[14.09.2009]
CS! berichtet über die D23 Expo...[...] John Lasseter spoke at length about Pixar's summer 2011 film, Cars 2 which will reunite the cast of the 2006 hit, taking Lightning McQueen (Owen Wilson) and friends on an international road trip.
Concept art was shown of the locations that McQueen will visit in his world tour, all decked out with automobile-inspired variations of the real world (the Eiffel tower has a wheel design at the base, Big Ben is called "Big Bentley"). The locations (which seem to be in the same order they appear in the story) included Tokyo, Japan, Black Forest, Germany, an unknown Oktoberfest town (where Lasseter showed an image of Mater (Larry the Cable Guy) wearing "mater-hosen"), Porto Corsa, Italy, Paris, France and London, England.
Also introduced was a new character, Fin McMissle, a James Bond-inspired secret agent who appears in the form of a gadget-riddled Aston Martin. One of the plot lines apparently involves Mater saving Fin's life and being mistaken for a secret agent himself, pursued around the world in a Hitchcockian "wrong man" scenario. No voice actor was announced for the role but the part seems to be screaming for Sean Connery to come out of retirement.
Other concepts that Lasseter promised for the film involve Mater learning to drive on the opposite side of the road in Europe, adventures on the Autobahn, troubles in Parisian roundabouts and scooters in Italy (which, he explained, are like gnats to the cars).
Also shown were two (of three) upcoming "Car Toons" that will air this fall on the Disney channel. The first is called "UFM: Unidentified Flying Mater" and the second "Heavy Metal Mater." Both were directed by Lasseter who promises that he'll keep making them as long as he can. [...]

[11.09.2009]
Empire Online berichtet über die Disney/Pixar-Präsentation in London...[...] we saw the first of two Cars Toons, another of Mater's Tall Tales. This short - called Unidentified Flying Mater - had the tow truck befriending a UFO, helping it escape from Parking Area 51 and learning to fly. Later we also saw Heavy Metal Mater, which had the tow truck accidentally inventing heavy metal and becoming a massive stadium-filling star.
And so on to Cars 2. The story sees Lightning McQueen (Owen Wilson), his pit team and new pit boss Mater head around the world for the Race of Champions, to take place in five different countries and involve the champions of different disciplines like Formula One and rally driving. First up is a race in Tokyo, starting at Mount Fuji and heading downtown (somewhat reminiscent of Mater's Tall Tales short about drift-racing, that); then there's a German race through the Black Forest; then "Porto Corsa" in Italy, which is based partly on the Monte Carlo Grand Prix; then a 24-hour race around Paris (so somewhat like Le Mans then) and finally a thrilling climax in London, approaching Buckingham Palace (where the guards appear to be Land Rovers).
But all this racing is not the only focus. Mater, who we know from the series of cartoon shorts Mater's Tall Tales (more on that in our blog in a minute) is prone to exaggeration, gets involved in a "Hitchcockian" case of mistaken identity, saves the life of a British secret agent called Finn McMissile (who looks a heck of a lot like an Aston Martin) and becomes embroiled in a huge spy thriller. Only no-one believes him. That too comes to a head at Buckingham Palace.
Along the way there are towtruck-abroad pictures to be taken at the Oktoberfest in Germany (where Mater wears "Materhosen") and harassing the aforementioned Palace Guards. Is it weird that Mater isn't annoying me at all any more, after being a bit of a pain at times in the first film? [...]

[16.02.2009]
CS! meldet...The LEGO Group and Disney Consumer Products today announced a multi-year licensing agreement that gives the world's premiere construction toy brand access to an extensive portfolio of renowned Disney and Disney*Pixar properties. LEGO® and LEGO DUPLO® products are currently in development for three franchises -- Disney Pixar's "Toy Story" and "Cars," and "Prince of Persia" -- all scheduled to launch in 2010 [...]Cars
Lightning McQueen will rev his engine at the starting line of a DUPLO portfolio that will have young builders creating and exploring the high-octane world of the Cars franchise. The Cars-themed LEGO DUPLO line will feature iconic scenes from Radiator Springs and the Piston Cup Championship raceway and will feature favorite Cars characters like McQueen, Mater and Sally. Cars-themed LEGO DUPLO products are scheduled to launch in June 2010. [...]

[09.12.2008]
CS! berichtet über den 6-minütigen 3D-Kurzfilm "Tokyo Mater", der im Vorprogramm von "Bolt - Ein Hund für alle Fälle" zu sehen sein wird...
Hitting theaters across the country on December 12, "Tokyo Mater" is the first Disney Digital 3-D short film and will be screened with Bolt (no technological slouch itself) as the full-length adventure enters its fourth week in release. The strategy harkens back to earlier days of Pixar when A Bug's Life and Toy Story 2 were re-released theatrically with alternate "blooper reels," designed as a "thank you" to repeat viewers.
This time, John Lasseter takes the director's chair for the first time since 2006's Cars, bringing the automotive characters back to the big screen as part of an ongoing series of "Cars Toons," the first three of which have already aired on the Disney Channel, Toon Disney and ABC Family. This time, the Cars characters mark Pixar's first step into the third dimension, a rather wonderful first example of what we're going to be seeing from the studio in the years to come.
The film features the return voice of Larry the Cable Guy as Mater the tow truck and, like the other three shorts, is presented as one of "Mater's Tall Tales," a conceit that sets Mater up as an unreliable storyteller, allowing for some welcome over-the-top adventures. This time, we find Mater telling Lightning McQueen about his adventures in Japan and a misunderstanding that leads to him being challenged to a drift-racing competition straight through the heart of downtown Tokyo.
"Tokyo Mater" runs about six minutes and every frame oozes with style, humor and just plain awe. The neon advertising of 3-D Tokyo verges on sensory overload and Lasseter has riddled the skyline with subtle in-jokes, everything from WALL-E Buy-N-Large signs to a brief cameo by Monsters, Inc. (Or, rather "Monster Cars, Inc.") stars Mike and Sulley. Add to that mix anime-styled Japanese eyes on Tokyo cars, a number of great automotive puns (especially one bit set in a donut shop) and even a battle against ninjas and you've got a short that -- to put it in car terms -- fires on every cylinder.
With Up in 3-D next summer and a theatrical 3-D re-release of Toy Story and Toy Story 2 making way for the third 3-D chapter in 2010, "Tokyo Mater" is the first sign of great things to come, leading ultimately to the return of the Cars characters in 2011 with the internationally-set Cars 2. [...]

[21.11.2008]
CS! sprach mit John Lasseter, u.a. über "Cars 2"...CS: [...] You've obviously moved up to more of an administrative role at Disney and Pixar but I know there's going to be a "Cars 2", so how are they developing the sequels to the movies you originally directed? How did you decide who was going to take over for these babies of yours?
Lasseter: We worked very closely with them, and it's people who worked on the film or people at the studio that I think will be great directors, and it's a very exciting opportunity. We're doing "Cars 2," which comes out in '11 and I think it's really great. I worked very closely with these teams on this and "Toy Story 3" which is being directed by Lee Unkrich, who was a co-director on "Toy Story 2" and then "Cars 2" is Brad Lewis, who is the very talented producer of "Ratatouille" who has been trained as a director, so he's doing a great job. [...]

[25.09.2008]
THR.com berichtet über "Cars 2" und "Cars"-Kurzfilme...[...] Lasseter said the studio is so high on the "Cars" sequel, which Brad Lewis is directing, that it will now arrive a year earlier.
In the meantime, Pixar will keep the "Cars" engine humming with a series of animated shorts that it will dub "Cars Toons." The first in the series will focus on Mater, the truck character voiced by Larry the Cable Guy.
"Cars Toons" will play on Disney Channel and also will screen theatrically. [...]